The following engaging story with a superb moral was written by Swami Ramakrishnananda, a direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna. It was published in the Prabuddha Bharata Magazine in August 1898.
The Debt of Hypocrisy
A thief coming to rob a large Calabash fruit (a gourd, the shell of which serves as a cup for mendicants) growing on a thatched roof of a certain farmer’s house in the night, found that one of the branches of a tree close by extended itself to the roof. He at once climbed up to that branch and was going to pluck the fruit away when the branch on which he stood broke and he fell flat on the roof.
The roof itself was very old and in its turn gave way and down came the thief, Calabash and all. The sudden noise produced by the fall roused the burly farmer and his sickly wife from their slumber, and when they came with a light from the adjoining compartment, they saw the figure of a man smeared all over with the sacred ashes absorbed in divine contemplation, muttering Siva, Siva, Siva, through his lips.
Unbeknownst to the farmer and his wife, the thief had quickly smeared himself with the ashes which he found in a hearth close by. He took recourse of this strategy as a means of saving himself from getting caught. The rustic simplicity of the couple was so much imposed upon by the action of this thief, that they believed him to be some Angel sent down from heaven in answer to their prayers to save the housewife from an illness, with which she was suffering for a long time. She now earnestly prayed that she might be relieved from the distress at once.
The thief who by this time came to know how the affairs stood, opening his eyes asked, “Is this my world and you my devotees?” Now the happy pair took him for Siva himself and prostrated at his feet when the thief blessed them with a handful of ashes. And assuring them that it was the last night of their misery on this earth he left the house with the Calabash fruit which they insisted upon his taking as their poor offering.
When the thief found himself alone and beyond the reach of all dangers he began to think over the matter seriously. He thought that if even playing a Sadhu for a moment could save him from an imminent danger, what would be the result, had he devoted his ill-spent life in sincere meditation and earnest prayers to the Lord.
Repentance followed and resulted in a sudden change in his life and character which moulded what would otherwise have been a sad old age into a bright future, for he soon found himself relieved from all his earthly ties and ever since devoted himself solely to the services of the Lord.
Summary
This story shows that even one moment of sincere self-reflection and introspection can completely change the direction of our life and save us from committing many sins in the future. Such a change when effected with a sincere feeling of regret and a firm resolution to not repeat the mistakes of the past, is so powerful that it can free us from the effects of many bad Karmas accumulated over previous births.
Just as a single stone cast is sufficient to disperse hundreds of assembled crows, similarly one moment of sincere self reflection and surrender to God is enough to wipe out numerous bad karmas. Therefore instead of criticizing others, and always finding faults with them, we must turn our gaze inwards and introspect to find what are the bad habits within our own nature that need to be changed.
